Kenda Creasy Dean Popular Books
Kenda Creasy Dean Biography & Facts
Moralistic therapeutic deism (MTD) is a term that was first introduced in the 2005 book Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers by the sociologist Christian Smith with Melinda Lundquist Denton. The term is used to describe what they consider to be the common beliefs among U.S. youths. The book is the result of the research project the National Study of Youth and Religion. Definition The authors' study found that many young people believe in several moral statutes not exclusive to any of the major world religions. It is not a new religion or theology as such, but identified as a set of commonly held spiritual beliefs. It is this combination of beliefs that they label moralistic therapeutic deism: A God exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself. God does not need to be particularly involved in one's life except when God is needed to resolve a problem. Good people go to heaven when they die. These points of belief were compiled from interviews with approximately 3,000 teenagers. Authors' analysis The authors say the system is "moralistic" because it "is about inculcating a moralistic approach to life. It teaches that central to living a good and happy life is being a good, moral person." The authors describe the system as being "about providing therapeutic benefits to its adherent" as opposed to being about things like "repentance from sin, of keeping the Sabbath, of living as a servant of a sovereign divine, of steadfastly saying one's prayers, of faithfully observing high holy days, of building character through suffering…" and further as "belief in a particular kind of God: one who exists, created the world, and defines our general moral order, but not one who is particularly personally involved in one's affairs – especially affairs in which one would prefer not to have God involved." The remoteness of God in this kind of theism explains the choice of the term deism even though "the Deism here is revised from its classical eighteenth-century version by the therapeutic qualifier, making the distant God selectively available for taking care of needs." It views God as "something like a combination Divine Butler and Cosmic Therapist: he's always on call, takes care of any problems that arise, professionally helps his people to feel better about themselves, and does not become too personally involved in the process." The authors state that "a significant part of Christianity in the United States is actually only tenuously Christian in any sense that is seriously connected to the actual historical Christian tradition, but has rather substantially morphed into Christianity's misbegotten stepcousin, Christian Moralistic Therapeutic Deism." Kenda Creasy Dean, author of the 2010 book Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers Is Telling the American Church, notes, "The problem does not seem to be that churches are teaching young people badly, but that we are doing an exceedingly good job of teaching youth what we really believe: namely, that Christianity is not a big deal, that God requires little, and the church is a helpful social institution filled with nice people…" She goes on to say that "if churches practice Moralistic Therapeutic Deism in the name of Christianity, then getting teenagers to church more often is not the solution (conceivably it could make things worse). A more faithful church is the solution… Maybe the issue is simply that the emperor has no clothes." Moralistic therapeutic deism is often inclusive of different religions. As one teenage study participant said, Morals play a large part in religion. Morals are good if they're healthy for society. Like Christianity, which is all I know, the values you get from, like, the Ten Commandments. I think every religion is important in its own respect. You know, if you're Muslim, then Islam is the way for you. If you're Jewish, well, that's great too. If you're Christian, well good for you. It's just whatever makes you feel good about you. Criticism The originators admit that "no teenager would actually use the terminology 'Moralistic Therapeutic Deist' to describe himself or herself". Some critics have taken issue with the term's use of the word deism, while others have defended it stating that Smith and Denton are right that both the Enlightenment deists and the adherents of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism believe in a generic kind of monotheism in which all religions worship the same God. Joseph Waligore points out that there are several other important features that Moralistic Therapeutic Deism and Enlightenment deism share. Both believe that people don't need scriptures, churches, or ministers to have a personal relationship with God. Both think God only demands moral goodness from people and doesn't care what religion, if any, people believe in. Both emphasize God’s total fairness and goodness, which leads both kinds of deists to reject many religious doctrines. Commentary Damon Linker, an anti-religious pundit, suggested in a 2009 blog post that moralistic therapeutic deism, while theologically "insipid", is "perfectly suited to serve as the civil religion of the highly differentiated twenty-first century United States", a contention that was disputed by Collin Hansen, Ross Douthat, and Rod Dreher. See also Deism Nominal Christian Postchristianity Religion in the United States "Spiritual but not religious" References Footnotes Bibliography External links Quotations related to Moralistic therapeutic deism at Wikiquote. Discover the Kenda Creasy Dean popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Kenda Creasy Dean books.
Best Seller Kenda Creasy Dean Books of 2024
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Through the Looking-Glass
Lewis CarrollAn Apple Books Classics edition. Travel back to Wonderland in Lewis’s acclaimed sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland . When Alice’s game of “Let’s pretend” turns real, she fi...
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Meditations
Marcus AureliusWritten in Greek by the only Roman emperor who was also a philosopher, without any intention of publication, the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius offer a remarkable series of challen...
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The Grumpy Dinosaur
Michael GordonEmotions & Feelings Series Book 2 A little Dinosaur gets annoyed easily, sometimes for no reason at all! Anger is a normal, healthy emotion. It's OK to feel a...
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Silver Hunter
Lacey SilksThey call her a cougar, but he calls her, his Queen. Grace Brooks, Manhattan's most soughtafter hair stylist, never expected Hunter, the young handyman with a knack for fixing...
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Beautiful Darkness
Autumn GazeYou can have anything you want in life... You just can't have everything you want... Gareth is Fae. Sort of. His mother was a Nymph, and with that cross, he finds himself to b...
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The Hookup Equation
Roxie NoirTeach me everything. My whole life, I’ve been a good girl. I follow rules like nobody’s business. I obey guidelines like I was born to it. Show me a line, and I’ll toe it. I’m even...
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Ice Crown
Kay L MoodyThe competition could save her life... But only if she wins. Talise can manipulate the elements with ease. Water, air, earth, and fire all bend to her will. As a citizen of the Sto...
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The Count of Monte Cristo
Alexandre DumasAn Apple Books Classic edition. Alexandre Dumas’ classic paints a portrait of Edmond Dantès, a dark and calculating man who is willing to wait years to exact his perfect plan for r...
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Close to the Ridge
Lexy TimmsClimb the mountain so you can see the world, not so the world can see you. In the end, all I learned was how to be strong. Alone. Lincoln is a former Navy Seal, hiding away in the ...
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Against the Boards
Cynthia GundersonPeople say opposites attract, but now I have proof. There's zero rationale for why I would fall for Tyler Bowen. I mean, he's the star winger of my brother's hockey ...
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Game Changer
Piper LawsonA steamy, grumpy sunshine sports romance featuring a woman down on her luck, a star basketball player with a filthy mouth, and a connection neither of them can deny. After being du...
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Dracula
Bram StokerAn Apple Books Classic edition. Few characters have seized readers’ imaginations quite like Count Dracula of Transylvania, the hero of Bram Stoker’s classic. The 1897 novel put vam...
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Silent Scream
Angela MarsonsFive figures gather round a shallow grave. They had all taken turns to dig. An adult sized hole would have taken longer. An innocent life had been taken but the pact had been made....
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Dark Psychology and Manipulation
Margaret MorrisonTHE MENTAL MANIPULATOR WILL NO LONGER KEEP SECRETS FROM YOU! Are you fed up with the wool being pulled over your eyes?Are you prepared to stand up to those who believe they can man...
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Finding Cinderella
Colleen Hoover#1 New York Times bestselling author of It Starts with Us and It Ends With Us writes a free novella about the search for happily ever after. A chance encounter in the dark leads ei...
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Become A Better Version of Yourself
Ben LeightonThis ebook contains golden nuggets on how to motivate, inspire and improve your current situation. It encompasses the holistic view of self improvement from mental& emotion...
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The Three Little Pigs
Mark LeskyClassic fairy tales, legends and folk stories in short version without violence retold with lovely illustrations in simple language. Perfect for reading aloud to small chi...
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A Tempest of Discovery
Sarah M. Cradit“Absolutely riveting!” "Cradit's delivery of mystery and intrigue is flawless." "Be still my heart. Nicolas Deschanel is back and better than ever." “A mus...
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The Next Girl
Carla KovachIF YOU ONLY READ ONE BOOK THIS YEAR, MAKE IT THE NEXT GIRL... You thought he’d come to save you. You were wrong. ‘ Absolutely the best thriller I’ve read this year! ’ Goodreads Rev...
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Protect Me
Margaret WatsonPolice officer Mia Donovan is studying for the detective's exam when her captain offers her an assignment – be Finn O'Rourke's personal bodyguard for the next three ...
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If I Break
Portia Moore~THIS BOOK IS BEST ENJOYED WHEN YOU DON'T READ ANY REVIEWS OR SPOILERS BEFORE READING. GOING IN BLIND IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. I PROMISE!~ Cal effin' Scott. Hell in a Arman...
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Holy Bible
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsThe 2013 edition of the Holy Bible contains all of the study aids contained in the 1979 edition and includes revisions to the study aids, several new photos, updated maps, and adju...
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Secrets of the Cottage by the Sea
Rebecca Alexander‘Heartwrenching… a delightful page turner’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I loved this’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Absolutely spectacular’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Heartbreaking… stunning’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐   As Ellie stood on the boat, watching...
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When the Night is Over
Lily FosterAre the bonds of our first true love as strong as they feel when we’re young, innocent and consumed with the promise of forever? The last time Charlotte Mason saw Simon Wade, he wa...
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Little Women
Louisa May AlcottAn Apple Books Classic edition. Meet the Marches! Louisa May Alcott’s classic introduces us to four unforgettable sisters: beautiful Meg, tomboyish Jo, delicate Beth, and Amy, the ...
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Boy Toy
S. E. LundTate McNaughton. 24 years old. Gorgeous. An artist independenly wealthy and the heir to a huge fortune. He's way too hot for my own good and seems intent on doing eve...
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Beautiful Storm
Barbara Freethy“ "Barbara Freethy’s Romantic Suspense books are explosively good!"  –New York Times bestselling author Toni Anderson. From #1 NY Times Bestsel...
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Collided
Portia MooreAlex I want Madison the moment I lay eyes on her. But I’ve got my work cut out for me because someone before me broke her heart and destroyed her trust. She's my friend, that&...
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The Cottage on Nantucket
Jessie NewtonAfter their mother dies, two sisters return to the cottage where they spent their summers growing up. Nantucket Point is exactly the same: charming, warm, and filled with memories ...
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Love Notes
Lexy TimmsWe're not here to take part, we're here to take over… I stood in the elevator, all my things in a cardboard box. Surrounding me, nearly every other employee clutched thei...
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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
L. Frank BaumAn Apple Books Classic edition. You’ve seen the iconic 1939 movie, but do you know about the talking field mice, the Winkies, and the Witch of the North that appear in the original...
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The Odyssey
HomerAn Apple Books Classic edition. Homer’s eighthcentury epic poem is a companion to The Iliad . It tells the story of Odysseus, who journeys by ship for 10 years after the Trojan War...
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The Wedding Bet
Susan HatlerA fun and uplifting story that will make you swoon and smile as two best friends fall in love. Kennedy needs to slow down, which is why her last boyfriend broke up with her. No mat...
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You Are Kind
Michael GordonA little kindness goes a long way. How can you help encourage your kids to be kind from a young age? Teach kindness to preschoolers Acts of kindness can be fun, easy, and make a ...
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Wormwood Abbey
Christina BaehrAs a Victorian clergyman's daughter, Edith Worms has seen everything until a mythical salamander tumbles out of the fireplace into her lap. When a letter arrives from estrang...
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Brush With Death
Mia HallMy first year at the Dreadmore Academy. What can go wrong? How long do you have? The list of stuff that can go right is much, much shorter.  I'm probably going to fai...
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Last Resort
Jill SandersWhen Cassey's business is in jeopardy, she gets an interesting offer from a local hotel owner. He has been trying to run her business into the ground so his family can snat...
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The Secret Diary of an Arranged Marriage
Halima KhatunWinner of the 2021 Bookbrunch Selfie Award for Best Adult I know I'll land a husband… but will he be the one? The Secret Diary of an Arranged Marriage – A Hilarious Romcom Tha...
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Dream Psychology
Sigmund FreudAn Apple Books Classic edition. Written by the founding father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud’s 1899 book is the definitive text on learning to interpret dreams. Freud’s groundbr...
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The Good Knight
Sarah WoodburyDON'T MISS THE SALE ON THE NEXT BOOKS IN THE SERIES! When a king is murdered on the way to his wedding, Gareth & Gwen join forces in their first mystery together! Five...
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No Room For Regret
Janeen Ann O'ConnellThe movement of the ship seals his fate. He could be sailing anywhere, anytime, but he's not, he's going to the other side of the world. He could be anyone, but he's...
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Wrong Places
Teralyn MitchellSometimes the path to happily ever after runs through all the wrong places… Romance never did Maggie Anthony any favors. So now that she’s back in her small hometown as a divorced ...
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Silenced Girls
Roger Stelljes“ Wow wow wow! Grips you in a choke hold and does not let go … Oozes suspense and bonechilling twists and turns . Astonishing … One of those rare books you stay up all night to rea...
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Her Texas Ex
Katherine GarberaShe couldn't forget him, even if she tried... When Amelia Corbyn was a vulnerable teen, she found out she wasn’t a Corbyn by blood. Her biological father was a legendary count...
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Tongue Twisters for Kids
Riley Weber"Rubber baby buggy bumpers" Say this three times as fast as you can.  How about, try saying " Loopy lizards lying lazily aloft a little lane of logs,"...
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Pride and Prejudice
Jane AustenAn Apple Books Classic edition. Jane Austen’s beloved classic opens with this witty and very memorable line: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possessio...
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Wuthering Heights
Emily BrontëAn Apple Books Classic edition. If you’ve only ever seen Wuthering Heights on screen, you may have an image of Catherine and Heathcliff as the ultimate starcrossed lovers. But that...
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Enemies With Benefits
Roxie NoirI don’t love him. I don’t even like him. I just want him. Eli Loveless was my nemesis from the first day of kindergarten until we graduated high school. Everything I did, he had to...
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Just One Time
Samantha BacaThere are worse things than turning forty.    However, I can't seem to evade my worry of my biological clock, and my fear that time is running out. I've...
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Serendipity
Carly PhillipsHe’s from the wrong side of the tracks. She lived in the house on the hill. Now their fortunes have reversed…but their longago attraction still burns. From high school golden girl ...